Turkey to step up medium-term economic programme – Erdogan

Turkey will bolster its medium-term economic programme (MTP) with a three-pronged strategy: enhancing public savings, prioritising investments, and hastening structural reforms, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing President Tayyip Erdogan. 

Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz revealed that the finance ministry and budget authority are conducting studies on public sector savings, with over 15 articles under review. He emphasised that the goal is not merely to cut expenditures but to optimise them for greater economic competitiveness, efficiency, and social welfare.

In a positive economic forecast, Erdogan predicted that Turkey’s economic growth would be near 4 per cent this year, buoyed by exports. He also projected a current account deficit of 2.5 per cent of GDP by year-end as February’s data showed a lower-than-expected deficit of $3.265 billion.

Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan, speaking at  a Peterson Institute panel in Washington DC,  panel in Washington, assured that Turkey is on course to meet its 36 per cent inflation target by year-end, following a peak of around 75 per cent in the upcoming months.